Businesses of all types and sizes throughout the United States, Mexico and beyond bring their disputes to Gardere's litigation team and receive practical, responsive, boutique-style attention in return. Our clients have access to the firepower and value of a well-known and highly-regarded Firm's capabilities and interdisciplinary strengths.

Gardere has a national and international energy practice formed around our Energy Industry Team, which is a multidisciplinary group of approximately 80 attorneys with diverse backgrounds, experience and skills specific to the energy industry. Our team includes attorneys who have served as in-house counsel for major energy companies, providing a depth of insight into our clients' needs, issues and concerns. We understand and regularly practice in virtually every sector of the energy, and we represent a wide variety of industry participants from multinational corporations to individuals.

From our offices in the United States and Mexico, our International Practice helps clients operate in today’s global economy. We have more than 30 professionals operating as a boutique within an Am Law 200 law firm and are able to provide focused service with the resources of a large firm. We understand that clients who are engaged in the global marketplace need lawyers who can operate seamlessly across multiple jurisdictions. Our international experts are multi-lingual, are culturally fluent and intimately familiar with various legal systems across the world, especially those in Latin America. Whether you need help with commercial transactions, regulatory matters, customs and import regulations, immigration matters, M&A and joint ventures, international disputes, or international tax planning, Gardere’s international team is here to assist you.

We represent domestic and foreign private funds in all aspects of fund formation, fund operations, platform and add-on acquisitions, and portfolio company operations. Our team has a reputation for being the go-to-lawyers for private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds and family offices. We are known for our vast deal experience, the efficient way we staff and manage our work, and the way we maintain our relationships. We get deals done with sophisticated, strategic, and practical advice tailored to the needs of our clients.

Blogs

France and Germany Considering Google Tax on Searches

12.04.12

Yahoo recently reported stated that French President Francois Hollande wants a tax on Google, and other search engines each time they use French media content. Google has threatened to exclude French media websites from search results to avoid paying this new tax. Apparently the goal of the new tax would be to “reward French media content.” Yahoo also noted that Germany is considering a similar tax. How taxing Google and others for showing French media in results helps French media, may be confusing. Perhaps over time we will learn more about that.

Legally any such tax plan, to the extent it taxes searches, is not so simple. Each user on Google agrees to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that controls the use of the information search and privacy. So the contract is entered between Google and the user, and the local governments are not a party to those contractual terms unless some valid local law so prescribes.

What legal right does a government have to require any search engine to report search results where no money changes hands between Google and the user? In plain English, there does not appear to be a taxable event. So what tax law could apply to obligate Google to pay a search tax?

Professional

The publications contained in this site do not constitute legal advice. Legal advice can only be given with knowledge of the client's specific facts. By putting these publications on our website we do not intend to create a lawyer-client relationship with the user. Materials may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. This information should in no way be taken as an indication of future results.

Newsroom

All rights reserved. Attorney advertising. Unless otherwise specified, Gardere attorneys are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Search Tips:

You may use the wildcard symbol (*) as a root expander. A search for "anti*" will find not only "anti", but also "anti-trust", "antique", etc.

Entering two terms together in a search field will behave as though an "OR" is being used. For example, entering "Antique Motorcars" as a Client Name search will find results with either word in the Client Name.

Operators

AND and OR may be used in a search. Note: they must be capitalized, e.g., "Project AND Finance."

The + and - sign operators may be used. The + sign indicates that the term immediately following is required, while the - sign indicates to omit results that contain that term. E.g., "+real -estate" says results must have "real" but not "estate".